Catholic clout is mighty in a country where 20 percent say they're Catholic, six in nine U.S. Supreme Court justices are Catholic and more than half a dozen 2016 presidential candidates claim it as their faith. When the pope goes to Capitol Hill later this month, nearly a third of his congressional audience will be Catholics.

The survey of Catholic voters found that:

Among Republicans, 20 percent had an unfavorable view of the pope, compared with 3 percent among Democrats.

GOP Catholics thought the pope was leading the church on the right track, by a 70 percent-30 percent margin, significantly less than the 92 percent-8 percent margin for Democrats.

Hispanic Catholics were most enthusiastic: 90 percent agreed he is leading the church in the right direction, compared with 77 percent among non-Hispanic white Catholics.

54 percent of voters who read the pope's call for a greater emphasis on a "new balance" of issues said they thought religious leaders should "keep out of political matters," compared with 48 percent who read a mock story from unnamed leaders stressing "nonnegotiable" sexuality, abortion and marriage issues as a priority.

Translator

To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.